Meck code enforcement department pushing for increase in fees

Get ready, those of you planning to do smaller renovation projects in Mecklenburg County. Fees might be going up.

The county’s code enforcement department is hoping to win approval to raise the fee for upfit and renovation permits when projects are less than $100,000.

No fee increases are planned for projects at or exceeding $100,000.

Under current rules, all renovation and upfit projects, whether commercial or residential, are charged $62.85, plus added costs depending on the trade. For example, the building trade per-square-foot charge is 7 cents, while it’s 4 cents for the electrical, mechanical or plumbing trades.

The department is aiming to raise the permit fee to $83.80 per trade. Also, the per-square-foot building trade charge would rise to 12 cents, while the charge to the electrical, mechanical or plumbing trades would increase to 8 cents.

A higher permit fee is also being proposed for homeowners who act as their own contractors on projects less than $30,000.

The proposal calls for homeowners to pay a $60 permit fee, a plan review charge of $45 per trade and $45 per inspection. But projects valued at more than $30,000 would still pay the current permit fee of $38.

Jim Bartl, director of code enforcement for the county, said in a memo that the proposed increased fees would “level the valleys” in the discrepancy between the costs to provide service and the revenue that his department receives.

The proposals, which would amend the county’s fee ordinance, are set to go before the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners Sept. 18 for its approval.